Most Popular Posts

Help! What color should we paint our living room?

Before we moved into our new Brooklyn apartment, the landlords offered to paint the walls white. But when we arrived, the paint was actually a (pretty drab) yellow cream. We'd love to freshen up the living room but are wondering: Should we paint it white or choose an entirely different color? I am officially The Worst At Choosing Paint Colors, so I would be so grateful for any advice...In the very top photo, you can see our current yellow, as well as a swatch of dove gray that our brilliant friend Jenny Komenda recommended. I'm thinking the gray might look something like Julianne Moore's living room, which could be lovely...Is black paint crazy? While looking around on Pinterest, I spotted a couple black living rooms. You'd think they'd feel depressing, but with bright furniture and art, the color can actually be cozy. (Although would it feel cave-like during winter?)Dark blues are GORGEOUS...Of course, there's something to be said for a fresh coat of white...Or we could go in a completely different direction and do something like...pink?

Thoughts? Do you like any of these? None? What color is your living room? I'd be thrilled to hear any thoughts!

Dove gray is nice, but can look a little green depending on the light. We painted the bedrooms in our house dove gray and painted the rest of the house Intense White by Benjamin Moore - which is more of a light, light, benign gray. We wanted a neutral, non yellowy white color and like Intense White so far!!

My living room is a deep rich red, which is fantastic with dark wood furniture, a white sofa, high white baseboards, and turquoise accents. My bedroom is a dark blue--(Behr's Deep Blue Sea, but color matched in Benjamin Moore Aura, which is a better quality paint).

I wouldn't do black unless you're willing to re-paint it yourself before someone else moves in. Are you even allowed to paint dark colors? I don't think that we're allowed to paint the walls at all in our building. I think either white or a light/medium gray would look nice.

If you have a lot of light in your place look into "Intense White" by Benjamin Moore. It's my favourite for places with lots of light. It can look like grey or like bright white depending on the time of day. We lived with it for 5 years in the place we just sold and I can't wait to paint our future place hat color.

We ended up using cool grays throughout most of our house because we have a lot of bright artwork and furniture (we have a pink tweed couch!). Picking paint colors were extremely painstaking... but it ended up being the easiest way for us to update other things in our house without having to worry about repainting. That said, the dark blue is beautiful! Is wallpaper off the table? Our office is a dark blue/gray with one wall of hand-rolled wallpaper and white ceilings. Just a thought!

We have Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Grey in our living room and LOVE it! It's gray with just enough beige to not feel cold, but it doesn't feel "beige" at all either... we have bright colors and deep neutrals in the room, and everything goes so well together. It's like the perfect pair of jeans, that color...

Depending on the size of the room, dark might get a little claustrophobic... That fresh pink is LOVELY. We painted all the '70s dark-wood accents in our house white and the light color opens it up SO MUCH.

We painted our living room 'Merlot Red' (was the name on the paint can)--and we love it!! Although if you're worried about your kids drawing on walls etc, maybe white would be easier in the long run. Good luck with the decision! xo

I think you need to think about your light in the space. If there are lots of trees, you will have a stronger sense of green in the spring and summer. If there are lots of concrete buildings around, your reflection will be different. You should also consider how colour might influence your mood and that of your hubby and kids. I, personally, love grey but could never live with it on my walls in the winter. I chose a bright, near white (yellow base but it is rarely noticed as creme) for our new house and I love it.

Good luck deciding! Did you see this, Joanna? i loved what Emily Henderson suggested in this post of hers -- they all look beautiful and bright: http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/my-10-go-to-paint-colors/

I think I would recommend a light hue of any colour for the majority of the room, to make it feel bigger and brighter, and then having a darker colored feature wall to have contrast. Maybe you can try a website like http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/try-on-colors/color-visualizer/ that will allow you to test the colours online and see if you like them before painting the room :)

I love (your friend!) Courtney Adamo's take on the Scandinavian trend of white walls and flooring to allow the furniture (and toys) to really stand out. All of your selections are beautiful! Can't wait to see the final results :)

I am such a neutral girl. We painted our office space a turquoise because I thought I would love a cozy but vibrant space- I hate it. :(That being said we do have a black accent wall in our bedroom which I love. Are accent walls so out right now? Ha, I can't keep up but I know what I like! Most of our house is Asiago from Valspar. I am so in love with it. It's almost, almost a putty color.

Hubs and I are all about the brights, so we painted a bright red accent wall in our living room that opens up to our kitchen. Our kitchen is bright yellow. My SIL used to call it "ketchup and mustard" but the last time she visited she admitted she loved it. The red is perfect for LOOONG winters. I'd chose gray or deep blue (pink is sooo not fair to your male-dominated household:)

If you like the brightness of the natural daylight, I would stay with something light like fresh white and accessorize with lots of color. I love colored walls, but I think they "steal" a bit of the natural lighting. :) Enjoy whatever color you choose!! Interior Design/Decorator/etc. Terence Conran did a whole study on color and its effect, depending on the room. I reviewed several of his books, and they were awesome! (Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Color-Terence-Conran/dp/1840915730/ref=la_B000APAYB0_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409849682&sr=1-20)

I love a fresh pop of color on the walls! Gray is a great color to keep it somewhat neutral still, and perk up the room more with furniture and wall hangings. Have you considered doing an accent wall, too?

I would say to go for white or very slight grey or beige but choose an accent wall for a fun bold pop of color. And I say go for pink! I did mine in a really saturated raspberry color and it's surprisingly not too feminine and it matches everything. I get compliments all the time too. It's fun and unexpected and when you get sick of it, just paint over it.

Always a proponent of gray, here! Our living room is an almost-white robin's egg blue. The rest of the house is bright bright white and soon-to-be-gray (not done painting yet :)). We only have windows on one side (condo building) so we tried to go with colors that would always make the rooms feel bright, even if they weren't getting a whole lot of natural light.

I think white looks really chic and modern now. But if you must, the pale PALE grey looks really clean, too. A friend painted her apartment a pale grey from stark white and we noticed it immediately although the results were very subtle.

Our apartment in San Francisco is glossy Dove Gray, which seems like it would be pretty depressing given the constant fog we have, but it's actually so cozy! It's easily the coziest color you can paint a room. When it's cold and drab outside, it's an instant pick-me-up. It also looks great with the white ceiling and molding throughout the apartment.

Since moving in with my husband several years ago I have become a convert to white walls - but my living room prior to that was a deep blue and I loved it!! I would love to see you go bold with dark blue or black - but dark colors like that show ALL the imperfections in your walls - so as it's a rental I'm guessing the walls aren't perfect - something to consider - as a fresh white hides all of that. If you go dark do all the walls! The accent wall of dark looks funny - like you got cold feet - and you won't have that cozy encompassing feeling. You can cheer a dark wall up with bright white trim. Dove grey is classic - but I feel like it is so overplayed these days - be different! :)

Love the dove grey, with dark blue as a backup. The grey is more versatile, so you can easily change throw pillows or rugs to chafe the feel for a much less expensive change. The dark blue would go with less, but still be beautiful

I live in a rental that doesn't get sunlight in the front and it's very depressing. The walls are a horrible yellow beige colour too. I'm all for white walls! With pops of colour throughout the house! I also like a light grey, Pensive Sky by Behr. I still think white would be classy in your new place! xx

hi, joanna! for me, black would never be an option, i think it darkens the room and makes it heavy also. i would go with white and maybe paint one wall in a completely different color? like green, or blue?

We are in the process of repainting our place and are doing it in different tones and shades of grey. I love it! It's calming and neutral but not boring. Feels clean and sophisticated. My one tip is to match carefully and paint a sample on the wall first to really judge the color's true characteristics first.

I love a fresh white, but our dining room is a rich blue, and that pop of color is stunning in all different light. I think it really depends on all the other stuff you have. If you have a lot of neutrals, a blue would really compliment that. If you have a lot of bright colors, I think white is the way to go!

I think pink tends to look drab too, depends on the shade, but you don't want neon or pepto bismol pink either, maybe a pale pastel, white/ pink would work. Personally I like earth tones with rich true color accents like ocher with splashes of red in the decor. Colors can make you feel certain ways too, I have heard yellow can cause anxiety.

My sister and I are big on accent walls - just picking one large wall and doing it in a striking color. Our living room is currently accented with a coppery orange, which is warm and welcoming. My friends love coming over and hanging out.

I'm in exactly the same dilemma, and I have pinned that very same picture of a petrol blue wall. I keep daydreaming about it, and trying to not let myself be convinced by all those who insist it will NOT look as good in practice. I say we stand by the choice and go for the petrol blue!

i'm not sure what kind of space you live in now, but honestly, i'd go with bright white. like the brightest on you can find at the hardware store. we had gray in our old living room and bedroom and I LOVED it... until I went with white in my new space. it brings in SO much light, way more than you can imagine. our current space in jersey city had "off-white" walls and ceilings and you wouldn't believe the difference that having a BRIGHT white would do! the brightness is the first thing that people comment on when they come over for the first time (and that's the way I like it :P)

We painted our living room and bedroom in 'Gray Beard' by Olympic Paints. My husband chose it soley because of the name. Seriously. But I love it. It reflects Northern daylight absolutely beautifully. (Our bedroom has northern exposure - and it is literally my favorite room i've ever lived in, the color is so calming during any time of day with either diffuse or direct sun.) It doesn't look as good in the living room under incandescent light, but still not bad at all. http://www.olympic.com/color/paint-colors/gray-beard-d31-1

Your sofa is grey, right? Then I'd stay clear of the Dove Grey. Check out Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue - it's a gorgeous stop between green, grey and blue and is really modern while still remaining classic. If any of that makes sense!My bedroom is Palladian Blue and I get so many compliments on it. I think it goes well with just about any colour you pair it with.

We painted the living room "black suede" in our Brooklyn apartment. We balanced out the darkness with a white sofa and light-toned art on the walls -- and well-placed lamps. The natural light in the afternoon is beautiful, the evenings cozy and dramatic. We love it.

I think I am a fan of the dark blue or gray. I feel like EVERYONE does white - and while I do love it I think I like the others the best. I agree that the dark blue would give the same effect as the black but without the cave feeling. Can't wait to see what you choose.

I painted all of the living areas of my house a light gray before I moved in, and painting the bedrooms and bathrooms more colorful shades. I love it. It's very soothing and the rooms flow well together, and I don't have to worry about the paint clashing with my existing furniture and accessories (I have a red sofa). I started with probably 30 paint swatches - I would encourage you to do the same. I had a definite idea in my head of what I wanted, but I was amazed how different the swatches looked in my house from how they looked in the store! I can't tell you how many times I found the "perfect" color in the store and got it home to find it was way too dark, or too green, or too blue, or too pink. Color is so specific to the space!

We painted our living room a dark gray with a slight purple undertone (can't remember the name right now for the life of me). With white trim it really pops and we've gotten many compliments on it. At first we thought it might be too dark, but after living with it for the last couple years we love it. It gives our large open floor plan a cozy feeling and we have never felt like it was too drab. My one tip though is try at least a couple of samples on the wall before you choose a color b/c they can look way different than the paint chip!!! Good luck. Can't wait to see the results!

SO. I have dark gray walls in my retail shop, + wow -- does all my merch pop like crazy! I want to paint our new living room that same color, but isn't gray becoming a little predictable? Even if not, dark blue rules my world + would totally make me happy -- but only if I got the RIGHT ONE! Oh, our room faces south + has 3 ginormous windows, so the dark's okay.

We painted our walls "Urban Sunrise" by the Lowes brand, Valspar. We love it. We actually extended it into our hallway and front room because it brightens things up so much and goes with anything. We have a dark grey couch in our living room with punchy orange accents and metallic accents. We painted our bedroom a dark blue which is so fresh and relaxing against our white trim.

My tiny UWS studio was painted a dusty pink so light it's almost white when I moved in, and I kept it and love it - the space is open and airy, with a hint of warmth, and I accessorize with bright pops of color.

I just painted our living room, hallway and master bath with BM Revere Pewter and LOVE it!! The sellers had painted it a cream with yellow undertones and I didn't realize how much I hated it until we finally painted it a few weeks ago.

We just moved into our new home (old house --- 100 years old!), and we've painted everything Gray Cloud by Benjamin Moore. It's a soft light gray, and so pretty and soothing. A great neutral. I'm thinking of Marlboro Blue for the dining room.

Our living room (in uk) is painted with Farrow and Ball elephant's breath. A lovely grey which with warm rather than cool undertones and looks gorgeous in summer and winter. I don't know if you have F&b in the states but it's a beautiful and versatile colour.

white. opens up space and always so easy to change with decor. goes with everything. I'm a fan of Scandinavian interiors so it explains it all.and easy to touch up when little artist's hands use it as canvas :)

The couple before us had a grey color on the walls which might have looked nice to start but to us looked very dull and a bit drab over time. When we painted it all white, the whole place brightened up and the wood features of our apartment really popped in a whole new way! We like white walls and then use art, personal items, and fabrics to bring in all the colors and playfulness we love. A neutral pallet for the walls also allows you to easily mix things up over time when you get bored.

I painted my bedroom black and it's perfect. However, my bedroom gets TONS of sunlight so it's never cave like. I think lighter colors for rooms with little natural light and go darker for rooms that get a lot of natural light. Good Luck!

Ohhh our old Brooklyn apartment had that yellow "white" too and it drove me crazy! Our house now came with a different color in each room, which is also driving me crazy. Color is wonderful, but IMO, not for walls. White walls are so fresh and clean and airy feeling...save the color for your things :)

Horizon by Benjamin Moore. A soft light gray that changes colors depending on what light comes in, often it looks a little blue. Also great with white trim/ceilings. Paint your bathroom a dark navy! I love a bold bathroom choice, but like soft grays for bigger rooms.

The best living room paint I ever had was a very soft fleshy pink (pale pink with yellow undertone, but not quite peach). In the day time it kept the room looking warm and inviting, at night with lamp light, the whole room glowed gold. The ceiling was white, but the color met the white well and felt very clean. No one ever noticed that we had a PINK living room, it felt almost neutral.

I have a hard time thinking that black or dark blue would be practical. I'm afraid you would see every little speck on the walls, and if you decided to take down a photo or a shelf, you would have a nice white hole in the paint. Not to mention they also show dust! Conversely, I find white very stark. That said...My vote would be for a light color like grey or a bluish grey. We used Benjamin Moore Santorini Blue in our dining room and loved how modern and soothing it is.

See if you can find large paint chips (12"x12") and put them different places around the room. It's worth the effort to find a color you love!

Well i'm definitly a fan of white rooms (especially in the winter, and it's so easy to change up a look when walls are white- by adding key items in different colours). But i have to admit the dark blue rooms are GORGEOUS!!!! If i had bright furniture and art it would definitly be an alternative. Gray is also lovely- less bold. But can be hard to coordinate with furniture and items if you have different shades of grays and browns... so that would be my only insecurity. Because all of the sudden gray can look brownish (if you know what i mean). But it would still be one of my top choices! But i say... try a dark blue!!!

I am looking to paint my living room to a greyish color which I think is lovely. I basically want my living room to look like Julianne Moore's too! It is currently a deep yellow which I absolutely despise but have been too lazy to repaint for the past 18 months. Hopefully I will convince my husband soon that we need to pay some painters to come in and take care of it! (I normally paint myself but it would be a literal nightmare with 8 windows and LOTS of crown molding. I'm tired just thinking about it! -_-

I also love a deep blue like you posted. I painted my kitchen that color and am still definitely obsessed!!

I like the bluer grey tone of Moore's room better than the grey sample on your wall right now. I just prefer cooler tones, which may be just me. I also like the dark blue, but any color will look so much darker on all 4 walls than on the chip, so be careful to balance the darkness of the color with the amount of light in the room and the size of the room. I love the promise and freshness of new paint! Good luck!

I'm a big fan of neutral walls - it allows you to change up the art, throw pillows, rugs, decorations, etc. with a nice neutral backdrop that won't clash (think Halloween orange. Lighter colors are also amazing for making spaces look bigger, more open, and airier. Thank you, optical illusions! My vote would be crisp white walls, and then perhaps an accent wall in the grey (which I think is lovely and still neutral). It can add a fun focal point, but not box you in like I think black or a dark blue would. Best of luck!

What is your ceiling like? If it's wood, it would go well with dark colors, I think. Black or navy blue are beautiful, and they can speak elegance if paired with more elaborate furniture pieces. However, for me, it could be a little overwhelming after a while since I love bright rooms (and they tend to be white). You could have one of the walls painted a different color (warm ones, like orange, or blue). It would give that part of the room a different feeling and create a fun effect (like this http://st.houzz.com/fimgs/95511ac500a7b977_4256-w660-h437-b0-p0--modern-living-room.jpg )

I highly recommend trying out Pittsburgh paint. They have no VOC paints with great coverage and beautiful finishes for a very good price. Much much less than Benjamin Moore. Say yes to $30 a gallon no voc paint! Our living room is Calvary Blue and receives the most compliments of anything else in our house.

I love the dove gray and the rich, navy blue. My mom has an amazing eye for color and has often done one accent wall in her living room, which I think is a great way to add a bolder color that you don't have to commit to for the whole room. It adds some punch and dimension.

Also - I find that in addition to hanging up some colors on the walls and see how they look during diff times of day, it's easy to look on Pinterest to see the varying ways a color looks in a home. Try searching Benjamin Moore Horizon on Pinterest - that's the one I recommended earlier!!

My in-law's living room used to be light pink and surprisingly it totally worked! When my mother-in-law was in the process of painting, I remember thinking--to myself, of course!--this is going to feel like a baby girl's nursery gone wrong. But with their solid blue couch, blue patterned chairs and wood (beautiful, dark cherry) tables and TV stand it made the space feel really cozy.

I love the grey that your friend suggested. That's probably what I would go for. It's so nice that your landlord will let you paint!

Yes, black is crazy. Well, not crazy but tremendously unforgiving if it's not the right black, and a bear to cover over if does not suit you. But saturated jewel tones, or white, or Jenny's gray all could be lovely. Whatever the color it should have the hues (three wtih most paints) within it that sing with what you already have.

I like a crisp grey or white but have really been loving inky hues lately. I think a dark muted blue would look amazing. I'd advise to stick to standard/neutral colors like white/grey/beige/navy/black instead of pinks/greens/etc - seems to me they'll continue to look fresh over time.

Mindful Grey by Sherwin Williams is a great grey color. It works especially well with more tan colors. We painted our last house this color in all of the main rooms, though the color can change with the amount of light you get. We also had a good bit of trim in the house so we were able to paint that a bright white to really make it pop.

Mindful Grey by Sherwin Williams is a great grey color. It works especially well with more tan colors. We painted our last house this color in all of the main rooms, though the color can change with the amount of light you get. We also had a good bit of trim in the house so we were able to paint that a bright white to really make it pop.

I think you will fine black and dark blue very, very depressing in the dead of winter. I did navy in a guest bedroom. It's fun for that smaller space that we don't use on a daily basis, but you can't go wrong with a dove gray or white. From there your textile and furniture options are pretty much endless.

I just painted my room the most beautiful grey... After procrastinating for two years, I went to Home Depot and basically chose one on a whim. The paint chip looked more taupe, but it the most beautiful warm grey, not too light, not too dark. And I swear it made the room appear bigger!

I'm not sure if someone already mentioned this but what about painting the ceiling a daring color and your walls a bright white? Then you can do black or dark blue without feeling that it would be too much. Pinterest has tons of inspiration for ceilings. Just a thought. Good luck!

My living room is a sort of beige that came with the house, but we have a small dining nook off the living room with the back wall painted navy blue. I don't know if I would do a whole room in navy, but I loooove how it looks on one wall.

We live in a very small 1920s bungalow and used to have BM revere pewter on the walls. As previous commenters have suggested, it is a nice and neutral grey and goes with anything as it can take on a modern or vintage feel. I must admit though, it was refreshing when we decided to have all the walls painted white. And oh my, who knew there were SO many white paint options! BM Swiss Coffee is a nice white option.

Get thee to a Farrow and Ball store and pick up a colour card (free). The reason I like this is because it's a SMALL selection that is colour coded - all the whites, all the greens, blues etc. You will quickly find which ones you gravitate towards. Even if you don't use this paint, you can narrow it down really efficiently. But if you do use their paint, they are all nice colours.

I loved the way all your furniture and art looked with the bright white walls in your previous apartment. It's totally been an inspiration for the choices I'm making for my new living room. So I guess I'm saying that I vote for white!

Love love love gray! Those black rooms are stunning, but I would advise against too dark: my brother- and sister-in-law's home has a DARK blue living room and it is decidedly cave like and depressing (IMO!) in the winter.

If you are looking for the perfect Gray I highly recommend Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray, it is the color of choice for designers, it is a soft gray, (not too green not to blue) and matches everything. Of course White is always a favorite. But don't do "super white"…it is shockingly white. I painted my entire kitchen/dinning area in this color after searching for the perfect (and elusive gray).

I would love to have white walls, they are so airy and chic. It's a no go though, I have four littles and they would be black with sticky handprints in no time, so I would go with the black or dark grey, they look beautiful with color and the right furniture!

I recently painted my dining room a deep, inky blue (Evolution paint in Nova) and I love it. The light reflects off it beautifully. Your art wall would look amazing on a dark background! I'm considering painting our adjacent living room a light grey - maybe Blacken by F&B - and love those soft neutrals too.Pics of the dining room blue are here if you'd like to see:http://redhousewest.com/2014/06/30/katies-house-deep-blue-walls-in-the-dining-room/

try the dark blue and then if it gets claustrophobic as winter sets in, just re-paint it! that's the nice thing about paint : ) I did a pale pink lately and it reads like miss piggy's skin if you don't have the right light (both sunlight and interior lighting). I will be re-painting said muppet room next weekend.

I wanted to paint our walls a dove grey, but my husband wanted more color. We ended up going with Valspar's Aspiration in an eggshell base. It's a great light green neutral with grey and yellow undertones. It looks perfect with our white trim and doors. It really brightened up our rooms. We're loving it. Valspar isn't the greatest quality paint, my professional painter Dad prefers Benjamin Moore, but we can't get that locally. Despite the difference in quality, it went on easily and looks great! We didn't even need to prime under it. Since you're doing your living room and have two sweet boys, you might want to try a semi-gloss or gloss base because they both clean off easier, which is very helpful with small handprints, and any artistic additions small people may add to walls...

Are you keeping the same furniture from your last apartment? If so I would go with white or a grey. Lovey, understated calm. The inky blue is awesome but I think you need to have great wood floors and some bright jewel toned furniture to really pop against it. Pale pink with your grey couch would be so so pretty but maybe a little feminine for your house full of boys?

Not to add more confusion to the mix, but what about adding color to the ceiling. A few examples: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/46232333645318282/ http://www.shelterness.com/50-ceiling-design-ideas/pictures/7813/ http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20640767,00.html

Gray is always nice, but you have to be so careful which shade you choose. Depending on the light they can look blue, green, or brownish. I did one in my kitchen and it didn't turn out well, it just looks like drab gray, like a school or something. It was so hard to tell from the swatch though! You can't go wrong with plain white if you get the right shade of gray, it can be lovely!

We painted our bedroom (in our old condo) Ralph Lauren's Studio Gray and loved it. It has almost a purple undertone, so it felt warm and welcoming. I'm not a fan of black. It's daring, but maybe a little too harsh. My friend did a dark teal color (similar to some of the ones you showed) in her living room and I LOVE it. It looks warm, fun and sophisticated.

Dove gray is beautiful, but can feel a little bit cold, espacially in winter. We have white-cream, which looks natural, like touched by sun:) Greetings from Poland, I love "A CUP OF JO", thanks for all!!

When my aunt and uncle lived in New York, their apartment was done completely in jewel tones. So the living room was a deep yellow. The study was a sapphire blue. One bedroom was an emerald green. Another bedroom was a deep ruby red. It was absolutely gorgeous.

is that moonshine gray? I love that color! Personally I can't stop painting my walls dark--f & b downpipe is my favorite blue/grey/green/cozy cave color right now--if you go dark I recommend painting everything. the ceiling, the walls the trip. everything. it blurs everything together and makes it feel bigger, even though it's darker.

Benjamin Moore Kingsport Gray -- it's a beautiful, warm brownish-gray that looks amazing with whites and bright colors, and equally amazing paired with other neutrals. I have it on my living room walls and get so many compliments on it!

my walls are navy blue and i love it. with plenty of light furniture and white accents, it's not too dark - everyone who visits comments on how dramatic and beautiful it is. (the color name is a bonus: new york state of mind - benjamin moore)

We have a grey in our Living Room and its so relaxing its my favourite room in the house. Its London Stone by Farrow and Ball. In our bedroom we have Pavillion Grey which is a much lighter, dove grey colour, the reason being we're in that room when its dark so to go too dark with a paint colour would make it too cave like, no? I think if you like dark colours, like the dark blue, maybe keep it to smaller rooms (like a bathroom) to give it a luxurious feel, which is what weve done (Black/Blue by Farrow and Ball in our WC)! Anyway, colour is so personal isnt it? Whatever you decide to do we cant wait to see it finished :)

We are big fans of both bright white (no off-white linen white decorators white in this house!) and dark colors. Our living room is Benjamin Moore In the Midnight Hour (#1666). We get tons of complements on it. It is a little like the Patricia Goijens blue - maybe a shade darker. Dramatic but warm. And our bedrooms is a dark grey - Urbane Bronze (which we just painted the exterior of our house!).

I think that the gray color in the first picture is gorgeous tough. I have a lot of grey colors in my home and love how it goes with everything and is warm and cozy without being too bold and taking all the attention away from my art and furniture.

Good luck picking something! It can be quite hard! Oh well, you can always repaint ;)

The grey you have looks green/gray compared to Julianne Moore's living room. I do love a light crisp grey. Try Silver Satin, Benjamin Moore. I painted my bedroom that color and it's simple, understated, yet very sophisticated. Art looks great on it too since it's not too bold.

The present tint of yellow can be toned down with a wash of white, (gives the walls dimension). Its easier than it sounds, if a friend teaches you or you barter a deal.Gray is a color that wants you to like it. Instead, try a dark blue accent wall with the present color. Tack a cheap thrift store sheet or fabric to that wall, and live with it for a few days.

The dark might get a little too dark come winter time. I am a HUGE fan of Restoration Hardware's paint. I painted my bedroom "Pumice" this weekend and it is a lovely grey/blue color. My living room is one of their whites, which is also quite nice. Their paints seem to have a depth of pigment that you might not get with other brands. The shade of the color changes depending on the light source and time of day, which I love. :)

Dark blue. It's timeless, warm, all-season, and little sticky hand-friendly. And you can play with color, print, and pattern, gold or silver or wood accents, and lighting, and it won't ever look washed out or like an office.

we did one black accent wall and it's actually very warm and romantic. we put art on that wall. the rest of the walls are soft white. in the dining room is a gray, i recommend getting a gray that is more of a 'color', i.e. with some blue or green undertones, as it can otherwise feel cold.

I think you should consider how much natural light you have. We have grey in our apartment, but because we don't have a lot of natural light it can feel dark and depressing, especially since we have heavier/darker furniture. Pink feels dated and very 1970s to me. I feel like black is a trend that will go out of style very quickly, and will be difficult to paint over quickly - for example, when I was in high school I painted a wall a dark/bright purple, then got tired of it within a few years, but it was really difficult to get rid of. So, to sum up, I said white or grey, depending on your lighting.

Gray! I love it - my living room is Spring green - a little brighter than a sage, but not too bright, its both refreshing and cozyBut I just love gray - we have a cathedral gray dining room and I love it - it lets our paintings pop without having the downside of the darkness of the black walls

I am a big fan of the grey living room photo you posted. I must say, I'm really into grey and beige these days. Our current living room is completely white. We have a huge white wall, but decided to break off the whiteness. A few years back we hung a beautiful photo (taken by my bf) of Barcelona. White definitely looks clean, but I do love some cozy colours.

Ok-- I just painted my house and here's my take. Hague Blue (by farrow and ball) but you could have Sherwin Williams copy the color, is amazing, and it goes with seriously everything. It's a really perfect deep blue and is lovely and cozy. I think a big main wall in hague blue could go a long way. The rest of the house you should do in a white/grey ish color that holds warmth. Good luck!! SO much to paint, because it really can make a huge difference. Make sure to use NO VOC paint, farrow and ball is all clay based, but Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore make clean paint. If your kiddos are in the house all day breathing that paint, (and you too...) you'll want to have something that's not leaching VOC's into the air for years to come. have fun with it! You can always, (seriously it takes 2 days) to change your mind!

I'm for any or all of the above, but I just wanted to pipe in and say I'm totally anti-"accent wall", like so many posters here are suggesting! Accent walls? The late 90's called and wants it's trend back! It just feels very dated to me, and also a bit wishy-washy, like "I want color but I'm too wussy to go all-in". :) Pick your favorite and go for it!

In the living room we actually did a cream white color, with one crazy wall. We picked the wall that you see first when you come into the room, with a black, red and green wallpaper. And it looks soooo great! We get a lot of compliments on it :D

I used a beautiful light grey called "revere pewter" by Benjamin Moore. I couldn't be any happier. Depending on the light, it actually changes its shade and at times it appears darker or lighter...it's very relaxing.

My husband and I adore color; he's a designer and we are both artists of sorts. We had a great time with our house: the hallway is deep red, my yoga studio is warm cream and soothing fawny grey-browns, the bedroom is striped in whites, the kitchen has both yellow and pistachio green... We enjoy and are good with color. I have to say, over the years we've been painting, I have fallen more and more in love with warm golden tones. If I had it to do over again, I might paint every room in the house a different gold. I think our best effort is the living/guest room. We took the main room with fireplace as our bedroom and chose a smaller bedroom for our living/guest room. The walls are a sweet peachy gold and the ceiling is a greyish lavender so that it disappears dark for movie viewing. So: I vote yellow. There area million tones, and they will vary with the daylight. Get several and paint good swatches of each so you can really feel for them. My big tip, having painting my whole place myself -- be sure to save some paint, clearly labelled (really, in a decade it's hard to remember what is what) to use for touchups. It's been a decade since we moved in and our rooms are like-new gorgeous; once every year or two I lug the cans up from the garage and touch everything up. Have fun!

I loved reading through all of the comments, we also went through the crazy phase of what should we paint the living room walls? I pinned tons and tons of dar walls, I loved the midnight blue and dark green A LOT. My husband not so much, we didn't want basic white or soft colours (the living room was grey when we bought our place), we went for a muted (not so afterwards) light forest green colour - hubby is a big fan of French Empire period - with gold mouldings. It was strnnge at first but we really love it (we kept the ceiling white and the panelling white and gold), it's classy, relaxing and we feel so chic sitting in our living room!So don't be afraid of dark colours, they work surprisingly well and I've never regretted it even in the pit of winter!

I went to the Guggenheim, fell in love with the grey, brought it home...and no good. I had that beautiful dark blue...but not quite right. My advice - try a wall of a loved colour and see how it goes.IN THE NAME OF GOD NOT PINK.Really. It never works.Currently brilliant white plus wall of purple - not bad...

I think the pink room is gorgeous and would be a nice counter to all of the boy toys you likely have :) Also, I think that teal-ish blue is amazing. We painting our front door that color and I LOVE it! Good luck!

You won't be there forever, right? Try something "wild" out and see if you love it.

My living room is painted with "Grandeur Plum" by Sherwin Williams. It's a medium-to-dark purple. When I first saw the paint on paper I didn't like it, but when we started painting the walls it looked great! Our couch is a dark eggplant, and we have an antique rug with gold, olive, and purple in it, so the colors really worked well together. Plus, our black baby grand piano really stands out as a focal point of the room--a neutral in contrast to the colors elsewhere. Wood floors also provide a good anchor, as do light curtains, against the darker walls. Go for color!

The best bright, neutral gray is called Pumice by Restoration Hardware. Just nab a swatch from them, then head to your local Benjamin Moore and have them recreate the color in an eggshell finish!!! I did my living room this color and no matter what color or style furniture & decor you add, it all works.

My living room/kitchen/dining room are all open - the living room portion is light yellow with a grey-blue accent wall where the TV and fireplace are. The dining room area is light yellow with a medium brown accent wall, and the kitchen is light blue-grey. If I had it to do all over again I'd probably go darker on the brown wall or paint it medium grey. I might just make all the walls the same blue-grey color as the kitchen. I don't think you can go wrong with a shade of grey or blue.

Our bedroom is Ralph Lauren Smoked Glass (a charcoal/black) and I'm in love with it. We have huge floor to ceiling windows though, and I wouldn't recommend painting a room black unless it gets a ton of light.

My grandfather worked at Sherwin Williams for many years and always said to never paint a room a dark color. Always go for a light shade on the paint chip. In my opinion, the gray is good, white is classic, and the pink is also pretty. Our living room is a bluish green